John Frederick Paxton
John Frederick Paxton is a character appearing in the fourth and final season of Star Trek: Enterprise, serving as the main antagonist of the episodes "Demons" and "Terra Prime," which comprise a two-part story. He was portrayed by Peter Weller, who would later play Alexander Marcus in Star Trek Into Darkness, and also portrayed Mr. Yin in Psych and Robocop. History Paxton is the leader of Terra Prime, a movement dedicated to maintaining the genetic purity of humanity, and is also the head of the Orpheus Mining Colony stationed on Luna, a position he inherited from his father. He orders the creation of a Vulcan/human hybrid created from the DNA of Enterprise crewmembers Charles Tucker III and T'Pol to serve his goal of creating an Earth free of extraterrestrial influence. Tucker and T'Pol learn of their daughter's existence and go undercover on Orpheus, only to be discovered by Paxton's men and brought before Paxton, who makes known his intentions to put an end to what he views as the contamination of humankind by aliens and returning Earth to its rightful owners. He then reveals that the Orpheus Mining Colony is actually a starship, which he commands to depart Luna and travel to Mars, where he's able to take control of the Verteron array (which is normally used to deflect meteorites and change the course of comets). Once in control of the Verteron array, Paxton broadcasts a live video message to Starfleet Command and to the United Earth government, demanding that all aliens vacate Earth lest he use the Verteron array to fire on San Francisco, where Starfleet Command (whom he holds responsible for Earth's so-called contamination by aliens) is situated. Paxton allows T'Pol to see her daughter, whom he contemptuously regards as a "crossbreed freak" and expresses his concerns that humanity will end up becoming a footnote in a historical text. T'Pol figures out that Paxton has Taggart's Syndrome, a disease that should have killed him many years ago, and that he takes regular injections of Rigelian gene therapy to manage his condition. She confronts Paxton with his hypocrisy, but Paxton is adamant in his views that he's trying to save humanity from extinction. Paxton is later confronted by Captain Jonathan Archer, and the two men face off. As he and the Enterprise captain fight, he mockingly compares Archer to his late father Henry Archer, saying that the elder Archer was so desperate for the secrets to achieving warp flight that he willingly became the Vulcans' "pet human". However, Archer ignores Paxton's taunts and takes him down. The cloning process his scientists used to create Tucker and T'Pol's daughter soon proved fatal to the infant. Paxton was also unsuccessful in preventing the formation of the Coalition of Planets. The delegates were nervous about going forward but an impassioned speech delivered by Archer salvaged the Coalition. Following the Earth-Romulan War the Coalition would evolve into the United Federation of Planets. Paxton was imprisoned after the Terra Prime incident. He died in prison on May 26, 2155. Quotes Navigation Category:Hypocrites Category:Star Trek Villains Category:Science Fiction Villains Category:TV Show Villains Category:Live Action Villains Category:One-Shot Category:Male Category:Businessmen Category:Sophisticated Category:Arrogant Category:Conspirators Category:Corrupt Officials Category:Supremacists Category:Delusional Category:Leader Category:Harbingers Category:Blackmailers Category:Fanatics Category:Terrorists Category:Mongers Category:Honorable Category:Kidnapper Category:Non-Action Category:Deceased Category:Book Villains